Malidadi Langa

Securing the future for wildlife and Indigenous and Local communities (IPLCs) in Africa and globally. We share one planet and a common destiny.

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Investment in agriculture productivity & building resilient community livelihoods is probably the only pathway to sustainable conservation and climate action. The faster funders and policy makers wake up to this reality, the better for people, nature, and the planet itself.

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

I recently have had opportunities to fly over the vastness of Southern Africa, East Africa, & West Africa as I crisscrossed Africa to promote @AICA. Looking below, it dawned on me that the continent is plagued by a dearth of investment in agriculture which drives habitat loss

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@MikeHudema @IUCNRedList Turning the situation around is certainly urgent but calls for bold action to address root causes. One such bold action is to increase investment in raising agricultural productivity, stem habitat loss, and compensate victims of human-wildlife conflict to promote coexistence.

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN @TRAFFIC_WLTrade Sounds like premature celebration when range states like South Africa can lose over 400 rhinos in a year to poaching even after investing billions in anti-poaching and law enforcement initiatives. Maybe there's a third way; investing in human well-being & community livelihoods

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@AWFCEO @DavisHigiro @NewTimesRwanda @AWF_Official @nsapatric @AndreaAthanas1 @RDBrwanda @visitrwanda_now @CityofKigali @MusanzeDistrict Sadly all Great Apes landscapes are under threat from habitat loss and fragmentation due to deforestation and encroachment into wildlife corridors. @AICA we recently met in Sierra Leone to mobilise #IPLCs in the Great Apes countries for action to save these iconic species

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN The very reason it's sensible to address root causes of deforestation & habitat loss. Investing in human well-being to address poverty & livelihood vulnerability is probably the smartest conservation strategy. Certainly not guns, military gear, and unaccountable law enforcement

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN @MumbaMusondam It's particularly a huge opportunity for Africa's #IPLCs to demand secure land and resource rights as a basis for sustainable conservation and climate action. It's a tragedy & shameful that decades after political independence, #IPLCs remain squatters on their own ancestral land

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Looking forward to a thought provoking keynote address that will unpack what needs to be done to 'put people at the centre of conservation'. From land and resource rights, human-wildlife conflict, to benefit sharing & direct funding for IPLCs. @AWF_Official @IUCN @LeadersSouthern

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Heading to Monrovia, to participate in the launch ceremony for the AICA Liberia Chapter. AICA is the Pan-African Alliance of Indigenous and Peoples and Local Communities stewarding Africa's natural resources. Probably the most enduring APAC outcome. @LeadersSouthern @IUCN

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@Greenisamissio1 You're absolutely right; unfortunately in Africa deforestation, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss continue to be driven by poverty & livelihood pressures. Yet forest land restoration initiatives tend to be technocratic and not focused on addressing the root causes.

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN @TRAFFIC_WLTrade Rhino conservation must also change from being perceived as a technocratic & elitist Northern enterprise to one that is locally owned,and community driven based on the utility and intrinsic value that communities place on it. @LeadersSouthern @Jamma_Int

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN @TRAFFIC_WLTrade There's need to revisit #community engagement & scale up models that shifts the balance of power from northern NGOs to legitimate community organizations & allow for increased investment in human well-being & resilient livelihoods. Militarization & law enforcement have failed us

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@IUCN @TRAFFIC_WLTrade In absolute terms, poaching numbers remain alarmingly high. If one country can lose 83 rhinos in 3 months, the crisis is very much with us. Legalise rhino horn trade to increase supply, bring down prices, & disincentivise poaching and illegal trade. @Jamma_Int @LeadersSouthern

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Today I took time off to visit the @LeadersSouthern office in Windhoek. I felt proud that CLN has progressed from an idea at the Africa Wildlife Economy Summit in Vic Falls in 2020 to reality today. All in pursuit of putting people at the centre of conservation in Southern Africa

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@Roads_Authority Sadly the naughty traffic police will slow traffic down to a snarl again. Whatever they are looking for!

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Back in Windhoek for regional NBSAP knowledge exchange event; great for sharing experiences and mutual learning. Descending on approach to Hosea Kutako Airport, the aerial view was spectacularly green. Never seen it like this before; great for people, livestock, and wildlife!

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

https://t.co/PQhe04yUnV
Looks like powerful animal welfare groups have captured Botswana elephants; CBNRM and all it stands for might be at risk! What are casually called wildlife corridors here, to local communities they are actually villages, people, farms, and their food!

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@vonderleyen How I wish the same could apply to elephants for Southern Africa where they are not only a human-wildlife conflict menace for extremely poor people but also destroying their own habitats. What's good for the goose must also be good for the gander! @LeadersSouthern

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

Heading to Bonamanzi Game Reserve for the African #Rhino Conference; keen to learn how rhino conservation is interfacing with #localcommunities. It's not a long time ago when these majestic creatures used to roam through my village, yet now seriously threatened!

[Malidadi Langa @MalidadiL]

@LeadersSouthern @kawiccoda @IUCN It's small but smarter investments like this one that will make a difference for protected areas, biodiversity recovery, and climate change. Time for a paradigm shift